World Heritage Focal Points in the Arab States meet in Bahrain to review progress in Implementation of Regional Action Plan
On 5 and 6 December 2023, World Heritage focal points in the Arab States region, along with representatives from ICOMOS, ICCROM and IUCN, came together in Manama, Bahrain, to review and discuss progress in the implementation of the Regional Action Plan for the Arab States (2021-2027). The Action Plan was endorsed at the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2021, and a number of actions have been undertaken since then.
In his introductory remarks, Mr Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of World Heritage, highlighted that this Action Plan is based on the strategic objectives and priorities that have been identified by the States Parties in the region, and that it is primarily a plan for the respective States Parties to better facilitate the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the region.
Participants had the opportunity to present a brief overview of the progress of the implementation of the Action Plan (2021-2027), which was followed by discussions on each of the three Strategic Objectives that have been outlined therein. A draft questionnaire on the mid-cycle assessment of the implementation of the plan, at state party level, was also presented to the participants.
The meeting concluded with a visit to the World Heritage Site: Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy, located in Muharraq, Bahrain.
Successfully organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), the regional focal point meeting served as a valuable opportunity to identify synergies between World Heritage professionals in the region, and highlighted priority areas for the way forward.
Bahrain